Category: CAS

In one of our last IFP sessions, we were given about 10 minutes to think about something that you are really passionate about to share it with everyone under 1 minute. I didn’t really have a chance to go up there on the spotlight and share about my passion so I guess I am just going to do it here. I think what I really want to touch on is that I just want everyone to be nice! I have been here quite a couple of years, and so many people have told me so many stories and the root of the problem is all just come back to some people being a bit insensitive. I know it sounds hard but just try to bring the best out of you whenever is possible. Your best is good enough! For example, when you see a person who is sitting lost in a new class, why don’t you just smile to him/her and make them feel a little bit more included? Imagine yourself in their position and you would also have wished that at least someone would have reached out and make a casual check with you whether you are okay or not.

It’s hard to not judge anybody, I think it’s almost inevitable, it’s like a part of a human nature. However, if you are forming a judgment in your head, don’t show it in your face. Just think in your head but why show it on your face in front of them?

It’s also hard to like everyone. However, if you don’t like someone, just don’t associate yourself with them, but you don’t have to talk bad behind them or show that you really hate them. You never know how far those actions and words of yours can affect someone’s life, they can really pierce into someone’s heart deeply. You also never know what’s going to happen in the future. You can die in any minutes. You think you can act harshly now because they did something bad to you, and you think it’s okay because you can always pay them back later. But trust me, nothing lasts forever. What happens when that person suddenly is gone, you regret that you should have done something at that time. We all are going to die at one point, so why not just try to see the best from all and enjoy being in the moment with everyone?

I mean I am not perfect myself. Most of the thing I spoke of above, I speak it from my own experiences. There are things that I have done and regretted or wished I could have done or things that I have felt myself. However, the thing is nowadays I like to live my life to the fullest and make myself enjoying the moment. I communicate with people the same way I like them to communicate with me. Because after all, it also comes to your own selfish motive as well, like you also are going to feel good when you make someone else feel good.

I think this activity really forces you to explore what you really feel passionate most because sometimes it’s not always so obvious to know that you also have something that you want to share with others. Moreover, you are only given 10 minutes to think, hence what comes to mind first would be something that is most genuine to you.

I think it’s really nice to write about this now and reflects. Even though I like to live my moral life by this mission, sometimes I myself tend to forget about it. So, now when I am writing this again in this blog, it actually helps to remind myself again as to what I want me to do and reflect on how I am doing now and kind of rechecking some of my past gestures again and work on towards my future actions. 🙂

In our last IFP session, we did a simulation where there are 2 countries (Jah and Kay), where Jah is not a very developed country with a high rate of diseases and deaths, illiteracy… and Kay is a developed country with high employment rates, economic booming…etc. Basically 2 completely opposite countries. And I was a part of country Kay. During our planning, we discuss very thoroughly on how to improve their country but not very much on how to convince them to follow our ideas. This is because we already assumed that when we go to country Jah, they will automatically listen to us and to our advices. But what a complete flop, when we go there, we started to realise that they have already made up their mind to not listening to us. Hence, even though, we are able to present our ideas at the end, I felt that those advices just go from one ear to another of them and the heated debate is more about “yes” or “no” to the advices rather than analysing which one of them works and how can we improve them.

I think I also realise some mistakes that our country make as well. I think we start to get caught up in trying to win and have a superior take on the debate and we forgot that our main goal is to help Jah to develop as a country not to make them agree to accept our advices. We should have asked what their plans were to make their country better, and support them with their own plan.

I think it all comes back to IFP conferences that we are going to hold in several countries as well as the services in our school. Rather than going straight and plan what to do to help them. We should go there first, talk to people in that area of what their challenges are, and what their plans are toward this problem and whether we can help in anyway after all. Only then, we can start pitching some advice ideas and discuss alongside with them whether they are going to work or not. Because after all, one of the expert in the problem is them.

Sundac is a local service that our school has collaborated together so that we can interact and help in away with their clients who are with intellectual disability. It’s to some extent a very new experience for me. Because, I have been in this similar kind of service before, I used to work with people with Alzheimer’s, or intellectual disability or elderlies…etc where you are in a situation where both partners don’t know each other and don’t speak the same language and you have to find other ways to communicate.

However, what’s new to me is that instead of us going to their place and do the service after school about 30 minutes, they come to our school instead and do the service for almost 1 and a half hours. We actually sat down and ate lunch with them and moved on to activities that we do in the plaza. Of course, in an unusual place with strange people who you don’t know before must be really overwhelming for them and would obviously make them kinda scared and not really open to you. For example, in one activity, when we have to stand in a circle and hold someone’s hand, I asked one of the client whether he wants to hold my hand. However, he rejects me! I was pretty sad actually, however I just maintained my smile and continue the activities smoothly.

Later on in the activity, some of the clients actually came to me and ask me to hold their hands which is very nice! So, what I learn is that sometimes your good intentions might not able to get through. And you can do nothing about it, you don’t have to pout or stress about it. You just have to be you and continue to do good, and eventually they will open themselves up and accept you.

I think one magic moment is when one of the client speaking in Chinese and I actually understand what she was saying. Then, we just had a conversation together and it was beautiful. I think she suddenly feels more closer to me and vice versa even though it was not a very deep or complicated but just a very simply basic conversation.

One interesting thing as well after we’ve conducted this service twice is that although we all do the activities out in the open during lunch time where a lot of our friends were passing by, I felt like I didn’t see them at all. All we do were just staying happy in the moment and be with the clients, which is really nice!

After all, I think the service is going good so far, we’ve had couple successful sessions with the clients where all of us are seen to be laughing happily while also helping them with their motor skills. What I want to focus on next time though is to become even more close and comfortable with them more like by knowing all of their names, and not afraid to hold their hands and talk with them even more.

Below are just some of the photos and videos that is taken during our activity sessions with them!